(Publisher’s note: I attended this academy last year, well most of it anyway, and plan to finish off the classes I missed this fall; that’s if they’ll have me back. I asked a boatload of questions and I learned a lot about police operations. I highly recommend it and it’s worth the time commitment and the drive to Ann Arbor.)

The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office will hold its fall session of the Citizen’s Police Academy, which is held once a week for 12 weeks on Wednesday evenings from 6-9 p.m. on Hogback Road.

File photo from citizen's police academy class.

You can learn about the history of the Sheriff’s Office, What Community Engagement is, the office’s Community Outreach Program, Problem Oriented Policing (POP), Neighborhood Watch, Arrest Procedures, Prosecution, Community Corrections, the Juvenile Detention Center, School Resource Officers, Explorers Program, the Teaching, Educating, and Mentoring (TEAM) Program, Emergency Management, Metro Dispatch, K-9, Traffic Services Unit/Secondary Roads, Subject Resistance and Control Training, Firearms Training Simulator (FATS), Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), Marine/Underwater Search and Recovery Team (DIVE), the Mounted Division, Honor Guard, Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT), Special Investigations, Corrections Programs, and take a Jail Tour.

It’s a great opportunity to ask questions of Sheriff Jerry Clayton, deputies that patrol the area, and operations directors.

Some classes are hands-on experiences and the purpose is to “dismiss any myths that the movies and TV shows may have created and to allow you to know more about your Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office,” according to the press release.